Outboard propeller mechanism for boats with eccentrically mounted shaft housings



Dec. 5, 1950 A. w. WANZER 2,532

OUTBOARD PROPELLER MECHANISM FOR BOATS WITH ECCENTRICALLY MOUNTED SHAFT nousmcs 2 $hets-Sheet 1 Filed May 28, 1948 Dec. 5, 1950 A. w. WANZER 2,532,470

OUTBOARD PROPELLER MECHANISM FOR BOATS WITH ECCENTRICALLY MOUNTED SHAFT HOUSINGS 2'She'ets-Sheet 2 Filed May 28, 1948 3 turn, is connected by a chain and sprocket I2 with the shaft 18 of the steering wheel 19 so that by turning the steering wheel, the housing 6 may be turned about its vertical axis.

The vertically extending drive shaft 1 is made with an upper section 20 that is connected to the power shaft 3 by means of suitable gearing, a lower section 2| that i connected-to the propeller shaft by bevel gears 23, and an intermediate section 24 which is connected to'the upper and lower sections by universal joints 25.

The upper shaft section 26 is connected by bevel gears 22 to a horizontal shaft 43, which in turn is connected to the power shaft 3 by means of bevel gears 44. Said upper shaft section 2i] is co-axial with the upper portion IQ of the housing and therefore has the same axis as that about which the housing turns.

The lower shaft section 2| is mounted in bearings 26 carried by the housing 6. The axes of the propeller shaft 5. In other words the axes of said shaft section 2! and propeller shaft 5 intersect each other.

The propeller-supporting housing 5 is constructed so that this offset relation between the shaft section and the axis of the propeller shaft may be varied, thereby to vary the offset relation between the propeller shaft and the vertical axis about which the housing 5 turns, and by this means the .degree of the secondary turning moment on the housing may be varied.

This end is accomplished by making the housing 6 in two sections, an upper section iii which is mounted in the bearings I! and which i coaxial with the upper shaft section 29, and a lower section 21 which carries the lower shaft section 2! and the propeller shaft 5. The lower end of the upper housing section H3 is provided with a circular recess 29, the center of which is offset laterally from the axis of the upper housing section H! as clearly seen in Fig. 3, said recess receiving the upper end 28 of the lower housing section 21. The two housing sections are secured together by means of bolts 3! which extend through a flange 3!! with which the lower housing section 2'! is provided and which are screw threaded into a rib 32 on the lower end of the upper housing section Ill.

There are a plurality of these attaching bolts 3| equally spaced about the flange 36 as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, and by this means the two housing sections can be attached together in any one of a plurality of different angular positions about the center of the circular recess 29, or, what is the same thing, about the axis of both the lower housing section 21 and the lower shaft section 2|. When the two housing sections have the relative position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the offset relation between the lower shaft section 2! and the upper shaft section in a direction at right angles to the propeller shaft is at its maximum as indicated by the lines 33 and 34, the line 33 indicating the axis of the lower shaft section 2!, and the line 34 indicating an extension of the axis of the upper shaft section 29 and also representing the axis about which the housing 6 turns.

If the two housing sections l0 and 2? are separated and then turned relative to each other about their axes and are again coupled together in relative positions in which the axis of the propeller shaft 5 intersects the axis of the housing section l0 and the upper shaft section 20, which is the condition illustrated in Fig. 5, the offset relation between the propeller shaft 5 and the vertical axis of the housing 6 in a direction at right angles to the propeller shaft will be reduced to zero. In other words the direction of the forward thrust of the propeller on the propeller shaft will be in a line intersecting the vertical axis of the housing 6.

If the two housing sections it and 27 are separated and then coupled together again in an intermediate position such as shown in Fig. 6, the offset relation between the propeller shaft 5 and the vertical axis of the housing 5 in a direction at right angles to the propeller shaft 5 will be somewhere between the maximum oifset relation shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and the zero relation shown in Fig. 5, such relation being indicated by the lines 33 and 34 in Fig. 6.

By this means it is possible to connect the upper and lower housing sections I!) and 21 of the propeller-supporting housing 6 so as to produce any desired offset relation between the maximum illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 and the minimum or zero relation shown in Fig. 5.

I claim:

1. Propeller mechanism for boats comprising a vertically extending propeller-supporting member, a propeller carried by said member, means for operating the propeller including a driving shaft extendin longitudinally of the propeller supporting member and a horizontal propeller shaft on which the propeller is mounted, said propeller supporting member having an upper section and a lower section separable from said upper section, said driving shaft presenting an upper shaft section journaled in the upper section of the propeller supporting member, a lower shaft section journaled in the lower section of said propeller supporting member, and an intermediate section connecting said upper and lower shaft sections, the axes of the upper and lower shaft sections being parallel but having a permanent fixed offset relation in a lateral direction and the axis of the lower shaft section intersecting that of the propeller shaft, means for turning the propeller supporting member bodily about the axis of the upper shaft section to steer the boat, and means detachably connecting the upper and lower sections of the propeller supporting member with the propeller shaft in any one of various radial posi ions relative to the axis of the lower shaft section, thereby to vary the amount which the propeller shaft is offset from said vertical axis.

2. Propeller mechanism for boats comprising a vertically extending propeller supporting housing, a propeller carried by said housing, means for rotating the propeller including a vertically extending driving shaft enclosed in said housing and a horizontal shaft on which the propeller is mounted, said housing presenting an upper housing section and a lower housing section, means supporting said upper housing section for turning movement about a vertical axis for steering the boat, said upper housing section having in its lower end a downwardly facing circular recess, the center of which is offset laterally from said vertical axis, said lower housing section having at its upper end a circular portion fitting said circular recess, said driving shaft presenting an upper shaft section journaled in the upper housing section coaxial therewith, a lower shaft section journaled in the lower housin section and coaxial with said circular recess and therefore offset laterally from the vertical axis, and an intermediate shaft section connecting the upper and lower shaft sections, means mounting the horizontal propeller shaft in the lower housing section With its axis intersecting that of the lower shaft section, and means for detachably securing said housing sections together with the propeller shaft occupying any one of a plurality of positions radial to the axis of the lower shaft section.

ARTHUR W. WANZER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of thispatent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Brooks Feb. 15, 1876 Hardy Dec. 11, 1883 Hirshstein May 27, 1919 Mathewson Nov. 30, 1943 

